I was thrilled to get to photograph Courtney and Dan.  One of the most fun bridal parties… ever.

Courtney & Dan got married at Eastland Suites so got to use one of their gorgeous suites for getting ready in!

I’ve found that in nearly every wedding I get to be apart of SOMETHING always goes wrong.  But always, at the end of the day, the couple is married and the quirks and crazies that happen only make their story more memorable.  This day, Courtney’s zipper got stuck.  I mean badly stuck.  After a good while of working at it, we just covered it up and didn’t fret.

Dan & Courtney originally had a June wedding set, but ended up moving it up to December.  Our hopes for a light snow didn’t quite happen but we were able to get some gorgeous pictures regardless!

My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard at these guys…. Oh my.

We headed downtown Bloomington for photos in between the wedding and reception.  It was COLD outside… but good sports all around!

One of my favorites from the day…

Mmmm I love this next set!

Shawna made a whole morning out of getting ready.  We talked about the importance of taking our time and setting aside plenty of time for each part of the day.  One of the things I always encourage my brides to do.  More time=less stress and more time to enjoy the day, your friends, and your mimosa!

When Shawna started wedding dress shopping – the only thing she knew for sure she wanted was buttons all down the back.  Her dress was just exquisite!

We headed over to her cousin Bethany’s home on Prospect Drive in Peoria for photos.  It was their dream home and has an AMAZING view… thank you Bethany for letting us use your home for the day!  Here is Shawna’s grandpa.  I loved him.

All set for the ceremony.  Bring it on.

The reception was held at the Contemporary Arts Center in Peoria.  It was so artistic – totally perfect for Shawna and Eric.  I loved all the details, including imported Beringer Wine with all original labels from Napa, California (where Shawna & Eric live now), a lego bride & groom (lovingly put together by Shawna & Eric!), and a live jazz band (including some good friends of Shawna’s from California).

Shawna loves music.  She sang Eric a song during the reception!  Soooo sweet… I definitely was wiping away some tears

Shawna has three sisters.  Jayma, seen below as the catcher of the bouquet, is the youngest and the only one left to be married.  A little fun was poked at her and her longtime boyfriend during their dad’s speech.  But after Jayma caught the bouquet… all laughter broke loose.  Especially when I overheard Jayma innocently say “I just stuck my hand out”.    Jayma…. I’m sorry my photo incriminates you!

Jessica looked STUNNING.  Not even kidding…. she looked breathtaking.  Everything from her dress to her hair to her veil and shoes…. beautiful.

And the below.  One of my favorites from the day and actually one of the first pictures I took of the two of them together.  I love how natural they both are…. just enjoying each other.

A little snack in between photos!

And then there was this pond… oh my how I fell in love with the scummy, grimy pond.  It just looked fabulous.  And I love the one below of Jessica looking back.

The reflection of the bridal party made this possibly one of my favorite bridal party pictures ever.  I love how it looks like a watercolor painting….

Could they get any cuter?  I think not.

Right before the reception they headed back in the Bug Limo Jessica had rented.  So cool.  She loves her green bug so they just had to go with the stretch.

Thanks to my second photographer, Laura Meador, for snagging some of the detail shots below!

MORE… yes MORE from this beautiful couple to come.  A beautiful “week after” session got us even more stunning photographs of these two lovebirds.

And then I got the chance to meet their little guy… Barrett… just a little over 6 month old!  Soooo adorable in his little tux!

After some time alone with the fam, we started up with some bridal party pictures in front of the church!

The church was beautiful… but Lauren even more so.  She looked stunning!

And then off we went…

The wedding was held in Lincoln, IL and their was a huge festival going on that day which blocked us from getting anywhere close to downtown.  We didn’t have too much time before the reception, but were able to find some pretty sweet spots right outside of the downtown area!

They brought Barrett in for the first dance- and I just might have gotten a little misty eyes with how sweet it was watching the three of them dance together.  Maybe I’m a little more of a sucker for families with little babies since I’ve had my baby girl… but oh my.  They were adorable.

And then it was party time.

Lauren and Cole…. thank you for allowing me to document your day!  You made me feel so welcome and gave me some incredible celebratin’ to capture.  I can’t wait until you see all the images!

So… I’ve been excited to post this wedding since the minute I uploaded all my pictures from the day.  I think I took more photos at this wedding then in the history of all weddings for me.  I was there about 13 hours and there was just so much going on my brain was on overdrive ready to capture something amazingly cool around every corner- everything from last name hangers (see below) to customized hotel room keys.  Yes – it was quite the celebration and I was so THRILLED to be able to be apart of it.  I obviously couldn’t post all the photos from the event (though I realllllly wanted to), and I will admit this will be a larger post than normal… but… I hope this does their beautiful party just a little bit of justice.

We started out at the Mariott Hotel in downtown Peoria… right off the river.  And I mean this hotel was gorgeous in every way.  All the bridesmaids were there getting hair done and nails done…. and there was so much anticipation.

The sweet little flower girl in the picture below was so expressive and dramatic in every way…. she couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw how beautiful her hair looked.  And, earlier that morning when she was cuddling with Mindy, she asked so sweetly why Mindy had polka dots all over her face.  Ummm adorable.  Mindy laughed pretty hard as she explained to her that they were called freckles

Nick & Mindy spent some time writing letters to each other… which were delivered by the Maid of Honor later that morning.

Nick arrives!  And the guys begin to get ready for the big day.

One of the bridesmaids had a little trouble with their dress… the fabric caught on the zipper and it took about 4 other bridesmaids and 30 minutes to get it free!  But success was sweet.

Gorgeous….

I love the image above….one big breath before the “first look”

This bridal party made me feel right at home.

One thing I loved about working with Mindy and Nick was that they really valued their wedding pictures and gave me tons of time for creativity!  We started out downtown Peoria up some old alleys and with some sweet buildings…

Then we headed up to Grandview drive for some family pictures…. but I was able to capture a few of Nick and Mindy against the gorgeous green landscape!

After the ceremony we headed out to a field for, yes, MORE PICTURES.  Did I mention how much I love this couple?  Mindy brought all kinds of fun props too…

The reception was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l and all the printed design was created by the wonderful Fabulous Affairs.

Love.

I try to make it a point to photograph a little extra those who I know are important to the bride & groom.  So when the parents got out on the dance floor…. my camera was all over that!

And finally… I grabbed the bride and groom for one last photo on the balcony overlooking the Peoria bridge.  One of my favorites.

Nick & Mindy….. how I loved being apart of your wedding day.  THANK you for everything… I hope your photos bring back memories and emotion for years to come!

It’s also so wonderful to hear feedback from my brides and their thoughts on the photos. Lori sent me an incredible letter expressing how much she loved the photos and how wonderful it was to get to work together. She also talked about how well Stephanie and I worked with such a large group! So glad I didn’t scare them off (or vice versa!).

Here are some (ok several) of my favorites from their wedding!

Throughout the blog you’ll also see a lot of detail and decor shots.  Their wedding had such a unique vintage theme to it!  All the planning and coordinating was done by Cally Shane at Fabulous Affairs.  She was in charge of coordinating and executing all the details from the vintage photo booth and all the decor to the menu and kid’s gifts.  She also was in charge of all the printing!!  All the invites, placecards, tablecards, yard signs, programs, etc… were designed by her…. and it looked amazing!  Thank you Cally for all the gorgeous accessories and the wonderful planning!

So, here are some of my favorites.  (Okay, maybe several of my favorites!)